How to Survive a Dental Emergency

May 19, 2016

I don’t know about you, but I have had my share of dental emergencies, including one major emergency while in the middle of nowhere. Thank goodness I had some clove essential oil to mitigate the pain until I got back to civilization three days later.

In the event of a major disaster or disruptive event, finding dental care from a trained professional may be impossible. First responders are going to be saving lives and not tending to a nagging toothache or even to a broken tooth. For that reason, we need to think about being dentally prepared with the tools and knowledge to get us by during a dental emergency.

Today I welcome back contributing author Joe Alton who shares his wisdom and medical expertise as he coaches us to become better prepared for a dental emergency. In addition, I share my own list of home remedies that will resolve toothache pain.

Dental Preparedness

Over the years, we have written hundreds of articles on medical preparedness for short or long-term disasters. Many now include medical kits and supplies to add to survival food storage and items for personal protection. Yet, few who are otherwise medically prepared seem to devote much time to dental health. Poor dental health can cause issues that affect the work efficiency of members of your group in survival settings. When your people are not at 100% effectiveness, your chances for survival decrease.

History tells us that problems with teeth take up a significant portion of the medic’s patient load. In the Vietnam War, medical personnel noted that fully half of those who reported to daily sick call came with dental complaints. In a long-term survival situation, you certainly will find yourself as dentist as well as nurse or doctor.

Anyone who has had to perform a task while simultaneously dealing with a bad toothache can attest to the effect on the amount and quality of work done. If your teeth hurt badly, it’s unlikely that your mind can concentrate on anything other than the pain. Therefore, it only makes sense that you must learn basic dental hygiene, care, and procedures to keep your people at full work efficiency. It could easily be the difference between success and failure in a collapse.

In normal times, however, you should understand that the practice of dentistry without a license is illegal and punishable by law. Seek modern and standard dental care wherever and whenever it is available.

The Survival Dental Kit

The prepared medic will have included dental supplies in their storage, but what exactly would make sense in austere settings? You would want the kit to be portable, so dentist chairs and other heavy equipment wouldn’t be practical. You would want it to be easily distinguished from the medical kit.

We’ve researched dental items that should be in the dental kit of those that would be medically responsible in a long-term survival community. After consulting with a number of preparedness-minded dentists, we have put together what we believe will be a reasonable kit that can handle a number of dental issues.

• Spoon excavators. These instruments have a flat circular tip that is used to “excavate” decayed material from demineralized areas of a tooth. A powered dental drill would be a much better choice, but not likely to be an option off the grid.

• Elevators. These are thin but solid chisel-like instruments that help with extractions by separating ligaments that hold teeth in their sockets. #301 or #12B are good choices. In a pinch, some parts of a Swiss army knife might work.

• Extraction forceps. These are like pliers with curved ends. They come in versions specific to upper and lower teeth and, sometimes, left and right.

Although there are more types of dental extractors than there are teeth, you should at least have several. Although every dentist has their preferences, you should consider including the following in your dental kit:

-#151 or #79N for lower front teeth
-#150A or #150 for upper front teeth.
-#23, best for lower molars
-#53R, best for upper right molars
-#53L, best for upper left molars

• Blood-clotting Agents: There are a number of products, such as Act-Cel, that help control bleeding in the mouth after extractions or other procedures. It comes a fabric square that can be cut to size and placed directly on the bleeding socket or gum.

• Sutures: A kit consisting of a needle holder, forceps, scissors, and suture material is helpful for the control of bleeding or to preserve the normal contour of gum tissue. We recommend 4/0 Chromic catgut as it is absorbable. It’s small enough for the oral cavity but large enough for the non-surgeon to handle. Don’t forget a small scissors to cut the string.

• Pain medication and antibiotics. Medications in the Penicillin family are preferred if not allergic. For those allergic to Penicillin, Erythromycin can be used. For tooth abscesses, Clindamycin is a good choice.

Just as obtaining knowledge and training on medical issues likely in a disaster is important, the study of dental procedures and practices is essential for the aspiring survival medic.

21 Home Remedies for Toothache Pain

Beyond the more serious dental emergencies, there is toothache pain. Why is it that you always get a toothache at night or a holiday weekend?

The following list of home remedies for toothache pain first appeared on Backdoor Survival in 2013. I have gone through the list and made some updates that incorporate the knowledge I have today. The best thing about this list is that most of these remedies can be made from items found in your pantry.

1. SaltWater: Mix a heaping tablespoon full of salt in a small glass of warm water; swirl around inside your mouth for as long as you can, then spit out. Repeat as needed.

2. HydrogenPeroxide: Swoosh a bit of hydrogen peroxide. If the taste is too horrid for you, try diluting it with a bit of water.

4. VanillaExtract: Saturate a cotton ball with vanilla and hold in place. Can also use a cotton swab dipped in extract. Other extracts that have the same effect are almond, peppermint, and lemon.

5. Melaleuca/Tea Tree Oil: Just a drop or two will do the trick. You can also add some to a cotton swab and hold in place or add a few drops of tea tree oil to a small glass of lukewarm to warm water and rinse your mouth with it.

6. Oregano Essential Oil: Mix a few drops with a bit of coconut oil or olive oil, then saturate a cotton ball with mixture. Can replace the carrier oil with lukewarm water if preferred but please do dilute the oregano oil!

7. AppleCiderVinegar: Soak a cotton ball with apple cider vinegar (ACV) and hold it in place. Can also try regular household vinegar.

9. Garlic: Take a clove of garlic, smash it and apply (settle it inside cheek). You can also mash some garlic with salt.

10. PeppermintLeaves: Chew on fresh peppermint leaves. You can also use dried leaves, just hold them in place.

11. Potato: Cut a fresh piece of potato (raw, skin off) and hold in place. Can also pound a piece of raw potato, mix in a bit of salt and use the mash.

12. Lime: Cut a slice or wedge of lime and apply, bite into it if you can to release some of the juice.

13. Onion: Slice a piece of fresh onion and hold it inside your mouth. The onion needs to be freshly cut (so it provides a bit of onion juice).

14. Plantain: Chew up a fresh plantain leaf. If you’re too sore to chew, use the other side of your mouth. Once the leaf is macerated a bit apply it to the problem area and hold in place.

15. Cucumber: Slice a fresh piece of cucumber and hold it over the sore area. If refrigerated, you might want to bring the cucumber to room temperature before using (if sensitive to cold) otherwise a cool piece can be soothing.You can also mash a piece with a bit of salt and pack it around the sore tooth.

16. CayennePepper: Make a paste with cayenne pepper and water.

17. BlackPepper: You can use this full strength or make a mix of pepper and salt.

18. BakingSoda: Take a cotton swab and moisten it with a bit of water, dip it in baking soda (coat the swab really well with baking soda) then apply. You can also make a mouth rinse by mixing a heaping spoonful of baking soda in a small glass of lukewarm to warm water, dissolve the soda then swish the mixture in your mouth.

19. Cloves: This is an old time remedy.Rest a clove against the sore area until pain goes away. You can also use a drop or two of clove oil or make a thick paste of ground cloves and water or ground cloves and coconut or olive oil.

20. Tea: Make a fresh cup of tea then take the used tea bag (still warm) and stick it in your mouth. Be careful not to tear the bag. The tannins that are naturally in tea leaves can help numb things.

21. IcePack: Cover an ice pack with a face cloth or towel then hold over your cheek where the problem is. This will help numb things. Make sure that you have some type of cloth between your skin and the ice, otherwise you can severely damage your skin.If that doesn’t work, try the opposite, a hot compress (making sure that it is not so hot as to scald your skin).

The Final Word

Being prepared for a dental emergency, whether in normal times or in a survival situation is something that ranks right up there with being medically prepared and pandemic prepared. Why is that most of us don’t think about dental emergencies until it happens to us?

I would like to offer up one other tip. Sometimes a tooth will actually shatter or chip. And sometimes a major piece of it will actually break off. What then?

If you are not experiencing any pain, you can take an emery board (nail file) and gently smooth away the rough edges of the tooth. On the other hand, if you are experiencing pain or hot and cold sensitivity, try applying some of the home remedies above plus an application of Sensodyne toothpaste to the affected area. That plus some Tylenol of Ibuprofen will get you by until you have an opportunity to see a dental professional.

Enjoy your next adventure through common sense and thoughtful preparation!
Gaye

Spotlight:The Survival Medicine Handbook: A Guide for When Help is Not on the Way: This book teaches how to deal with all the likely medical issues you will face in a disaster situation, including strategies to keep your family healthy even in the worse scenarios. It covers skills such as performing a physical exam, transporting the injured patient, and even how to suture a wound. This medical reference belongs in every survival library.

Bargain Bin: Below you will find links to the items related to today’s article, including a link to sources for clove oil, the one essential oil that I find most beneficial for toothaches.

Where There Is No Dentist: Community health workers, educators and individuals from around the world use this book to help people care for their teeth and gums. The author uses straightforward language and careful instructions to explain how to: examine patients; diagnose common dental problems; make and use dental equipment; use local anesthetics; place fillings; and remove teeth.

Clove Essential Oil: I use essential oils from Spark Naturals. They are high quality yet reasonably priced. In addition, there are no membership fees and a distributor relationship is not necessary to get best pricing. Interested in checking them out? Backdoor Survival readers get a 10% discount by using coupon code BACKDOORSURVIVAL at checkout! A 5ML bottle is only $5.99 before discounts.

Zinc oxide powder: Zinc Oxide powder has been on my wish list for a long time because I wanted to take a shot at making my own sunscreen for SHTF purposes. This article gave me an excuse to investigate other uses. This is another one of those multi-purpose items that are so good to have on hand. About $10.

3M N95 Particulate & Respirator Mask: This is an inexpensive mask that can be used in a variety of emergency situations. They come in a box of 20 and are NIOSH-certified. The molded cone design is fluid and splash resistant and will greatly reduces your exposure to airborne particles.

For over 25 years Emergency Essentials has been providing the highest quality preparedness products at great prices. Plus, each month they feature sales that quite honestly are fantastic. And now, for a limited time, they are bringing back their warehouse sale with savings up to 85%!

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